Allotments 4 All

Produce => Edible Plants => Topic started by: ruffmeister on September 16, 2007, 12:22:45

Title: pumpkin update
Post by: ruffmeister on September 16, 2007, 12:22:45
Hi there peeps,

This week on our plot we have harvested the first of the butternut squashes for sunday dinner. The totals are (from 7 plants) 19 butternutes, 9 crown princes and 3 atlantic giant.

Question is, how are yours doing? are they producing as many as last year, less or more? also what do you do about powery mildew on the leaves, we remove and burn the leaves. Interested to hear youir opionions

Click here to see the Monster pumpkins, and powedery mildew (http://lottieblogs.co.uk/Sepw2.aspx)

also on the plot this week continued harvests of all sorts, clearing of new compost bed, a massive weed and alsotying up the celery.

Regards
Lottieblogs
Title: Re: pumpkin update
Post by: mc55 on September 16, 2007, 17:59:36
I have three butternut squashes from 6 plants this year ... they are half the size of my little finger  :'(
Title: Re: pumpkin update
Post by: manicscousers on September 16, 2007, 18:06:54
three fairly good butternuts from 5 plants, 2 small !! sugar from one plant, size of small footballs, lots of the butternuts have rotted off but there are 4 more, I'm feeding like mad to see if they'll grow to a reasonable size before any cold kills the plant off  ;D
Title: Re: pumpkin update
Post by: Suffolklad on September 16, 2007, 23:17:27

We harvested most of our pumpkins yesterday to prevent vandals/thieves getting them:

Two Big Max plants produced this lot:

(http://homepage.ntlworld.com/uk2day/chooks/pile.jpg)

Three are just over 80lbs each.
There are about 4 or 5 more left on the plants that are football sized.

We also picked 9 butternuts from 3 plants, and there are quite a few more in amongst the greenery.

Title: Re: pumpkin update
Post by: Garjan on September 17, 2007, 08:00:01
Somebody took two Butternuts without permission which really made me angry. But my two Butternut plants still have five fruits of decent size. And a few fruitlets that I hope will ripen before the frost. I'm not dissapointed with the yield of this variety.

My Marina de Chioggia, however, did nothing. Three plants and not even the beginning of a fruit! They did flower, and my garden does attract bees and other pollinators. I just don't know what went wrong.
Title: Re: pumpkin update
Post by: Tora on September 18, 2007, 15:06:03
My butternut (Pilgrim) was sown in June and did nothing until last week when it finally produced a female flower... I don't think I will get any. :-\
Trial mini pumpkin from T&M - same as the above.
Over a dozen squash I sowed in May died apart from two Marina di Chioggia and one Tokyo Kabocha. I got three fruits (1 big, 2 small) from Tokyo Kabocha and 4 fruits from Marina di Chioggia (all big!). I'm quite impressed with Marina di Chioggia.
I'm going to sow seeds earlier next year! :)
Title: Re: pumpkin update
Post by: saddad on September 18, 2007, 15:43:22
An impressive haul.. Suffolklad... mine have come to nothing, only the Veg Spag didn't let us down...
:-[
Title: Re: pumpkin update
Post by: lasder99 on September 20, 2007, 23:26:50
Worst year since I've been growing them ( 9 years )

Last year 130 squash and pumpkins from 30 plants ( butternut, halloween, baby bear, small sugar). Ate last one april
This year 15 from 60 seeds planted, 40 plants raised, 25 survived the first 2 weeks of planting out. Basically Pumpkins have given one per plant survived (7 buttercup, 5 halloween, 3 crown prince), Squash - nothing from the 10 survivors, not even a flower.

Worst year since I've been growing them ( 9 years )
Roll on 2008
Title: Re: pumpkin update
Post by: Robert_Brenchley on September 21, 2007, 08:38:47
Mine only started growing properly this month. The total crop was one cucumber.
Title: Re: pumpkin update
Post by: isbister on September 21, 2007, 08:40:57
In march I took up an old lawn and stacked the turves greenside down in a corner of our plot. Then I dug a hole in the centre of the stack, filled with compost and planted a Northern Bush Pumpkin (realseeds). Result 5 lovely big fruits about 4 - 5 kg each. Last year same plant in the ground (with much compost and irrigation and good weather) result 3 fruits.
Otherwise - courgettes were good but butternut produced 2 fruit from 3 plants